Basta's Wrath
by The Rook Thief
Summary: Everybody's favorite knife-lover is back! Starting before Dustfinger finds Silvertongue, view Basta's scenes in Inkheart the way he saw them, including some behind-the-scenes action and steamy encounters for our enigmatic villain  finally  Enjoy, review!
1. Lookin' Good

Basta's Wrath

The evening air in Capricorn's village was cool and pleasant as Basta strode between the buildings at a leisurely pace. He was free that night, having no orders from Capricorn, and he rubbed his hands together with a grin as he pictured all the things he could get up to in his spare time...

The taste of peppermint leaves on his tongue assured him he would get no complaints from _that_ quarter, not anymore. His faithful knife would assist him to get the attention of those he desired the company of... He reached his hand down to reassure himself it was still there, and relished the feel of the cold metal against his skin.

"Oh, Basta!"

Basta spun around, gritting his teeth at the only too-familiar voice, loathing rising inside him.

Dustfinger was leaning casually against the side of the building Basta had just passed, his scarred face pale against the sandy brick. That stinking weasel was on his shoulder, fangs bared at Basta.

"Oh, be careful, I think I see a black cat!" Dustfinger pronounced, pointing casually behind Basta.

Basta scowled, torn between checking Dustfinger's claim and not falling for another of the fire-eater's damn tricks. He settled with crossing his arms and tilting his head as if scoffing at Dustfinger's attempt to trick him, when really he was glancing at the alley behind him from the corner of his eye.

"What are you doing here, Dirty Fingers?" Basta demanded.

Dustfinger ignored him.

"Where are you off to? Going to seduce another of Capricorn's maids with your charm-or rather, your knife?" Dustfinger asked lightly, looking down with an esoteric smile that Basta wanted to carve off the disrespectful fire-eater's face. If only Capricorn didn't need Dustfinger to track Silvertongue, the owner of the last known copy of _Inkheart_, the same Silvertongue who had read the three of them into this world years ago. Then Basta would enjoy threatening Dustfinger, and perhaps cut him, see his well-deserved pain, perhaps even kill him, though Basta did not enjoy killing as the other fire-raisers did. Since Capricorn needed him however, Basta had orders not to harm him...more than was necessary.

"Have you forgotten what my knife did to _you_, fire-dancer?" Basta asked softly, spitting the peppermint leaves from his mouth into the dirt and drawing his knife in a flash. He saw the wary look in Dustfinger's eyes before the fire-eater covered up his fear with the mask of his supercilious smile.

Basta advanced on the fire-eater, almost determined to give him another reminder of who was boss around here. Or perhaps he'd kill the marten to teach its master a lesson.

"I'm catching up to Silvertongue." Dustfinger said abruptly.

Basta laughed.

"You really think that's going to stop me from carving another nice gash in your face?" Basta asked, his rough laughter fading. He fingered his favorite knife lovingly, caressing it in anticipation. He loved the wary fear in his enemy's blue eyes, knowing he had caused it.

Then suddenly, Dustfinger made a mocking bow.

"I must be off. I have to report to Capricorn, you know. Ta ta." The fire-eater said as he lithely exited the scene. Basta almost went after him...but as one of Capricorn's favorite henchmen, he didn't catch many breaks, and he'd rather be spending his free time with one of the more attractive maids than wasting it chasing after the hated fire-eater.

Chuckling to himself, Basta pocketed his knife carefully, liking how easily accessible it was from the pocket of his black jeans. From his other pocket he took out some more peppermint leaves, which he promptly put into his mouth and began chewing.

Avoiding the more uneven buildings and any ladders that might be waiting around to be walked under, Basta sauntered over to the residence of the prettiest maid, a mute, but nontheless, a lovely thing. He stopped before a large piece of silver metal that reflected his visage, lit by a torch left burning by whatever idiot had left the metal there. He surveyed his reflection, from his carefully trimmed, very dark brown hair (no strand was allowed to grow over two inches long), past his handsome, mildly angular face, with its well-trimmed eyebrows and cunning brown eyes, dark like chocolate but far from sweet, checking the smoothness of his long-sleeved, glossy white silk shirt, its fancy appearance diluted by the casual black jeans and gleaming black leather boots they were tucked into. He grinned at himself, then quickly looked around to make sure no one had seen.

Resa was already outside when Basta arrived. She looked almost like she was waiting for someone. When she caught sight of Basta however, her gentle, light brown eyes widened, and she turned to escape into the maids' quarters and perhaps lock the door, her beautiful pale golden hair lashing behind her as she quickly spun on the spot.

Basta raced to catch up to her, catching her arm in a firm grip just before she reached the door.

"Where do you think you're going, angel?" He rasped softly in her ear from directly behind her.

The young woman turned, fear evident in those pretty eyes of hers. She hesitantly placed both hands flat beside her face as she cocked her head and closed her eyes briefly, in the gesture many recognized as relating to sleep.

"If you're so exhausted, why are you in such a rush?" Basta chuckled, a spiteful grin spreading across his lips. He didn't let go of her arm.

Resa paused again. She looked as though she would like to glare at the man before her, his pepperminty breath wafting across her face.

Basta dropped his hand to hers and watched her tense. He felt a cruel pleasure at the reaction he inspired in others...

"I have a gift for you. Why don't you invite me inside, so my knife doesn't have to do it for you?" Basta hinted.

Resa reproachfully opened the door, slipping her slender hand out of his larger, rougher hand as she did so. That irked him only a little; hopefully he would feel the touch of something better than just the woman's warm hand soon, if his gift was received well and his charms appreciated...

Please review. Part 2 coming soon...


	2. The Window

It was dimly lit inside the housing unit that Resa shared with two other maids. Basta looked around with distaste as he crossed the threshold, noticing dust and dirt. Evidently the maids did not keep their own houses as clean as the rest of Capricorn's village. He squared his shoulders, doing his best to ignore the slight mess, though it irked him.

Resa stood where she was, just inside the door, which she hadn't closed, as if hoping Basta would simply stroll right back out.

"Where are your manners, my fair little mouse?" Basta asked of her, a crooked grin on his face.

"Aren't you going to offer me something to drink?" He went on.

Resa's cute, well-shaped nose crinkled almost imperceptibly as her lovely, full lips pursed slightly in response to Basta's demand. She hesitated only briefly, however, stepping gracefully over to the refrigerator in the nearby kitchen area, deftly opening the door and busying herself with Basta's drink.

Basta shut the front door and went to lean against the counter in what he hoped was a suggestive and inviting pose as he waited for Resa. He was adjusting this pose, glancing down to see if it had the effect he was going for, when Resa suddenly set down a mug right in front of him, and his head snapped up in surprise. Then he cleared his throat and looked into the mug.

It was filled with water.

"_Water_?" Basta exclaimed.

Resa nodded coolly. Perhaps he had grabbed her arm a little too tightly...

"Alright, listen up, girl. Don't you have anything else to offer a man? Something a little...stronger?" Basta asked, a little ticked off now.

Resa just gave an exaggerated shrug. Was it his imagination, or was she smirking?

Grumbling ill-contentedly, Basta brushed past Resa to the refrigerator to take a look inside. With a low curse, he turned away from the nearly empty machine.

Resa wasn't there.

Another oath issued from Basta's mouth as he rushed to the door and looked out. Just as he reached it, he heard a door creak upstairs and a click. Cursing yet again, his fury unleashed, Basta ran upstairs and crossed the landing to Resa's room, pummeling the wooden door with his fist until dust was shaken from the ceiling. He stepped back in disgust, checking his clothing and running his hands through his dark, olive-brown hair, then returned to hitting the door, this time a little softer so as to prevent loads of dust besmirching his outfit.

"Open this door, you- you-"

Basta caught sight of the elderly maid trying to creep past him silently and yanked his knife from his pocket, brandishing it at the poor old woman, who squealed and pressed herself back against the banister that blocked off the landing.

"Get out of here!" Basta growled loudly, and the old maid hastened to obey, as did the young, mousy girl on the ground floor. They fled the house together and Basta was left alone with Resa. And the door. No, he couldn't exactly forget the door that stood between them.

"Resa, you open this door right now! Don't you dare disrespect Capricorn's right-hand man! I'll have you punished, you-you-you insolent wretch!" Basta roared.

He paused in his pounding and listened. He heard the rustle of fabric from inside Resa's room, but of course, that was it. The girl _was_ a mute, after all.

Running his fingers over the smooth metal of his knife, he thought for a moment, then changed tactics.

"Resa." He called softly through the door, looking down at his blade as it gleamed in anticipation.

"I'm sorry I got mad." He lied.

"Won't you open the door and let me give you this present?" He made a face. "...Please?"

_I'm not going to bed tonight until I've gotten some action!_ He added silently with a malevolent grin.

A slip of parchment slid through the crack under the door and stopped at Basta's boot. He bent to pick it up. There were some of the symbols that Basta couldn't understand scrawled on it, which were then crossed out as Resa had evidently remembered Basta couldn't read. Under them, Resa had drawn an angry face with a detached hand making a very rude gesture up at Basta's incredulous and once again furious face.

"Why, you ungrateful bitch!" Basta snarled, retrieving another, less important knife from his boot, which he shoved ruthlessly into the lock on Resa's door, rattling the knob to see if he had broken through the defense mechanism.

He froze as he heard a strange sound from inside Resa's room. Did Resa's room have a window...?

With a loud curse, Basta left the second knife stuck in the lock and stepped back, bracing himself, before running at the door with a yell and throwing his body against it with all his might. It was old and not made that well, but Basta's attack only cracked it, so he thrust his foot heavily into the broken part, which effectively broke down the door in a huge, splinter-y mess. Basta leapt over the remains, into Resa's room.

He looked around just in time to see the pretty young woman vault out the window that was indeed located in her room, her glossy blonde hair flowing out behind her.

A/N: The next installment is coming soon, dear readers. Please review.


	3. Letter of Apology

IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Dearest readers, I am loathe to inform you that I shall unfortunately be leaving for the time being and shall be unable to produce any more chapters to unfinished stories. I apologize most sincerely for leaving you all hanging. If I had things my way, I would continue writing, but I simply do not have the time. The way this story is, is the way it shall have to stay. Sincerely, The Rook Thief


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